The Unwritten Track is the fascinating and emotive memoir of Terri Janke, a Wuthathi, Yadhaigana and Meriam woman and an internationally recognised expert on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP).
The Unwritten Track follows the path of Terri Janke’s life – from her childhood in tropical North Queensland to becoming a First Nations lawyer and building her own law firm. None of it was planned. She found her way through love and family, challenges of life, a love of music and writing, and the steady work of protecting culture and creating space of First Nations voices where none had existed. The Mabo decision, handed down as she was coming into the law, helped set her on that path.
Through a warm and generous voice, Terri unpacks the experience of walking between two worlds and the responsibility she carries in both. At its heart, the book holds hope that one day the First Nations and non–First Nations stories of Australia will no longer feel separate, but understood as chapters of a shared story, connected by a common responsibility to care for Country and for one another.
The Unwritten Track is about having the courage and belief to go to new spaces, often without knowing where it will lead – the unwritten track is not a road already mapped out for us, but one we create together by building on the strength of others who came before.
